James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senators for their contributions and the broad support they have provided. I acknowledge the huge work that is done by members of An Garda Síochána in putting their lives at risk on a daily basis, as a number of Senators pointed out. Indeed, Senator Craughwell pointed out that this is one profession where when you go out you do not if you are going to return home. They have done tremendous work. Let us reflect on the pandemic and what the Garda did then not just in enforcing peace and safety but the community work on a daily basis, reaching out throughout Ireland and ensuring that people were safe. Yesterday I was in Rosslare Europort for five hours. I spent considerable time with members of An Garda Síochána down there who are on the front line dealing with the very traumatic and tragic situation of Ukrainians arriving in the port. I witnessed their humanitarian approach. While they have legal duties to fulfil, they behaved in a compassionate manner and showed their understanding of these people who were very distressed and tired arriving after a long journey from Ukraine to Rosslare, which takes 24 hours on a boat from France. This Bill provides a new fit-for-purpose Garda compensation scheme. Importantly what it will do is help reduce the time that gardaí face at the moment when seeking justifiable compensation when they have been maliciously injured on the front line. It will also reduce the cost of administering the scheme. That is important so that we can get a more streamlined, effective scheme in place that reduces the stress of An Garda Síochána members but also reduces the cost to the State. It does this by setting out clear timeframes for each stage to ensure there is a swift resolution of the claims made.

The Bill also provides more time for applicants. It increases the time to make an application from three to six months. Not having to make a decision so quickly gives the gardaí more opportunity to assess the situation in which they have found themselves. Use of PIAB for assessing the award for Garda compensation also ensures that there is now an independent assessment. As Senator McDowell pointed out, it will also ensure greater consistency of awards across the board. The guidelines that PIAB has will also assist in that regard.

It is hoped that this Bill will mean that the majority of cases will be resolved without the need of court proceedings, which, in turn, will reduce the level of stress and the level of legal costs to the State and increase the speed of resolution. With recourse to the lower courts now available rather than the necessity to bring each claim before the High Court, it will mean a lower level of costs associated with some of the claims that need to proceed to court. This is an important change.

I wish to signal that the Minister may bring forward one or two small technical amendments to this Bill on Committee Stage. The amendments relate to the application forms to be prescribed by the Minister for Justice. It may not be desirable to have a requirement for these forms to be prescribed by regulation as it will be subject to change each time the PIAB form changes and, therefore, a technical amendment may be brought to remove the requirement to prescribe these forms by way of regulation.

I thank Senators for their contributions. I welcome Senator Horkan's support and the acknowledgement of the importance of getting this compensation for An Garda Síochána without delay. I have responded to a number of comments by Senator McDowell. In regard to civilian staff, a point raised by Senators McDowell and Buttimer, they are not included in the provisions of the Bill, nor are they included under the current provisions of the Acts of 1941 to 1945. This is due to the fact that they are not engaged in front-line policing, which carries with it an increased risk of injury or death on duty in comparison with other types of policing duties. I acknowledge that there is an increased civilianisation of An Garda Síochána. Increasingly, roles are being given to members of the staff so it will certainly be kept under consideration. I will bring this to the attention of the Minister.

An appeal is possible under this legislation.